Thread-tensioning means



L. VEILLEUX, P. H. LEVEQUE AND J. BARNES. THREAD TENSIOi-ING MEANS. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30, I920.

1,398,926, Patented Oat. 18, 1921.

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L. VEILLEUX, P. HLLEVEQUE AND 1. BARNES.

THREAD TENS|0N |NG MEANS. APPLICATION map SEPT. 30. 1920.

Patented 001. 18, 1921.

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IlIj-F E avwewtow A. 145744150X M [fl/905 .7. 5143mm I jf a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.IJOUIS VEILLE'UX, PHILIP H. LEVE QUE, AND JOSEPI-IBARNES. 0F NEW BEDFORD,

MASSACHUSETTS.

THREAD-'TENSIONING MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

Application filed September 30, 1920. Serial No. 413,709.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we. Louis VEILLEUX, PHILIP H. LEVEQUE, and JOSEPH BARNES, citizens of the United States, residing at New Bedford, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thread-Tensioning Means; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved tension device for imparting the necessary tension to thread and yarn to prevent the formation of kinks and entanglements.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved tension device embodying a novel pivotally mounted spindle for supporting the bobbin so that application and removal of the latter will be greatly facilitated.

Another object of the invention is toprovide a device of the abovementioned class which includes novel means for exerting pressure on the thread to place the same under tension, this means including a yieldable independently movable member which has a very small portion of its surface in contact with the'thread and is sufliciently elastic to prevent breaking of-th-e thread.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the above mentioned class which includes a removable wear plate over which the thread passes, thus making it possible to renew this plate whenever desired and necessary.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a partof this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same Figure 1 is an elevational view of a thread tension device constructed in accordance with our invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view which the thread is adapted to pass, showing more clearly the thread guide, shoe, and its mounting means.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig.2 to show the Wear-plate and construction of said shoe.

of the head over Fig. 4:. is a detail edge elevational view of one of the shoes which we employ under some circumstances.

Referring to the drawings, wherein the preferred embodiment of the invention is clearly disclosed, the numeral 1 designates a supporting frame or bracket which is substantially C-shaped and includes foldable arms 2 and 3, the latter being provided with a notch t to permit it to be connected on the supporting rod of a spooling machine or the like, the same being held in position by means of a set-screw 5. Projecting at right angles from the .arm 3 is an extension 6, and on this extension is mounted a plate or spindle supporting member 7 which extends in parallelism with the extension and is slightly spaced therefrom in the manner shown. This member may be pivotally mounted in any suitable way, but it is preferably provided with spaced attaching ears 8 intermediate its ends which straddle the extension 7, a pivot pin being passed through these ears and the extension. This member 7 carries, as before intimated, a relatively long spindle 9 on which the bobbin 10 is mounted. With this arrangement, it will be seen that the spindle may be swung outwardly with respect to the supporting bracket 1 far enough to facilitate in placing the bobbin in position or removing it as the case may be. For the purpose of returning the bobbin to its normal effective position, a coiled spring or other suitable spring 11 is interposed between the extension 6 and inner end of the member 7 in the manner disclosed, sockets 12 being formed in the extension and member to properly retain the spring in position. In order to retain the member 7 in spaced relation with respect to the extension, a stop or spacing stud 7 is carried by the same, it being adapted to abut the underface of the extension.

The thread is wound from the bobbin 10 and passes upwardly and over the head 13 formed on the upper end of the arm 2, andafter passing over this head, it is drawn beneath a guide 14. Careful examination of'the head just referred to will disclose the fact that the outer end thereof is substantially fork-shaped, and this fork is designed to form another guide for the thread. A groove 15, if desired, may be formed at the juncture of the head and arm 2 to pro-- vide additional guide means and to prevent lateral shifting of the thread on the head. The means for placing the thread under tension comprises an arm 16 which is pivotally mounted on the head, this arm being preferably made from a single length of wire bent in such a manner as to cause the portions indicated at 17 to extend transversely across the head. The opposite endv of the wire arm may be bent to extend in parallelism with the head in the manner clearly disclosed in Fig. 4 so as to form a novel supporting means for an adjustable weight 18, it being obvious that this weight is employed to increase or lessen the amount of pressure exerted on the thread. Pivotally mounted on the portion 17 of said arm is a friction shoe 19 of suitable construction, and this shoe is held in spaced relation from said head by means of a yieldable member 20 which permits the thread to pass between it and the flat surface of the head without breaking, due to the fact that it yields when knots and entangled portions pass be.- neath it. This member 20 may be of any suitable construction, being here shown in the form of a resilient strip of metal which is secured at one of its ends to the shoe 19 while its opposite end is disconnected and permitted to have independent movement with respect to the shoe. Furthermore, this strip of metal is preferably bent between its ends as indicated at 21 to form thread engaging members which prevents the entire surface of this member 20 from engaging the thread and placing undue friction on the latter. In otherwords, this construction provides a two-point contact which insures that the proper amount of friction without too much contact will be had.

Constant passage of the thread over the head will, no doubt, cause the latter to wear and to overcome this, it is our intention, as before intimated, to make use of a wearplate 22. It is to be noted that a recess 23 is formed in the upper flat face of said head to permit reception of the wear-plate 22 therein, the latter being preferably in the form of a porcelain plate. With this construction, it will be seen that in case the plate is subjected to severe wear, it may be easily and readily replaced with a new plate.

The operation of the device is as follows:

The bracket 1 is secured on the supporting rod of a spooling machine or the like by means of the notch 4 and set-screw 5. The bobbin may then be placed on the spindle 9 by simply swinging the latter outward on its pivot,.the coiled spring serving to return it to its normal vertical position. We wish to call attention at this point to the fact that this construction and arrangement will greatly facilitate the application and removal of the bobbin and since it is desirable to employ a relatively long spindle, the advantage of this construction will be readily apparent. The thread, as is obvious, is passed upwardly through the forked end of the aforesaid head and over the upper flat face ofthe latter, through the guide groove 15 and beneath the additional guide member 14 to the spool or other device on which it is to be wound. As the thread is moved over the head, pressure is exerted thereon through the medium of the weighted arm, shoe, and yieldable member carried by the latter, this yieldable member exerting the proper friction on the thread to retain it under tension, but yielding when necessary to permit knots and other entangled portions of the thread to effectively pass beneath it so that the thread will not be broken. As before stated, the two-point contact construction of the yieldable member prevents excessive friction from being exerted on the" thread and thus facilitates in permitting free passage of the thread beneathithe yieldable member. In cases where yarn and other coarse thread is being wound from the bobbin onto a spool, the yieldable member 20 and the type of shoe with which it is associated is dispensed with, and the type of shoe, known as a solid shoe, replaces these parts. In case the pressure of the friction means is insufiicient to obtain the proper and desired pressure, the weight 18 is adjusted.

The special shoe referred to'in the above paragraph as being used in connection with coarse thread is disclosed in Fig. 4. By reference to this figure, it will be seen that this shoe, designated by the numeral 24, is substantially the same construction as the shoe 19, except that it is provided with the spaced thread engaging ribs 25 which reduce the amount of friction exerted on the thread passing beneath it, as in the casewith the member 20 which is provided with similar thread-engaging ribs.

A careful consideration of the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings will enable persons skilled in the art to which this invention relates, to obtain a clear understanding of the same, therefore, a more lengthy description is deemed unnecessary.

Advantageous and effective results will, no doubt, be insured and obtained with the foregoing construction and arrangements of parts, and for this reason, We select this construction and arrangement as a preferred embodiment of our invention. However, we wish it to be understood that various minor changes in shape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A thread tensioning device comprising a bracket including means for supporting the bobbin, and a head over which the thread is designed to pass, and a resilient weighted thread-engaging member pivotally mounted above said head and having a two-point contact with the flat upper face thereof.

2. A thread tensioning device comprising a bracket including means for supporting the bobbin and a head over which the thread passes, a weighted arm pivotally mounted on said head having 'a portion extending transversely across the latter, a friction shoe pivotally mounted on said transverse portion of the arm, and a yieldable thread engagin member carried by said shoe.

3. X thread tensioning device comprising a bracket including means for supporting the bobbin and a head over which the thread passes, the latter being provided with a thread-guide, a weighted arm pivotally mounted on said head having a portion extending transversely across the latter, and a friction shoe pivotally mounted on said transverse portion of the arm, a piece of resilient metal secured at one of its ends to the shoe, being spaced from the latter and independently movable with respect thereto.

4:. The structure set forth in claim 2, said piece of resilient metal being bent between its ends to form a relatively small thread engaging rib to reduce the amount of contact with the thread.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

LOUIS VEILLEUX. PHILIP H. LEVEQUE. JOSEPH BARNES. 

